Deputy rapped over his handling of Ho's career (TNP: 21 Aug 2014)

IN 2007, City Harvest founder Kong Hee berated deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng in an e-mail for not doing more to make sure the music career of Kong's wife Ho Yeow Sun was a success.

Here are edited extracts which were shown in court as evidence of how closely Kong supervised his deputies in handling his wife's career.

Kong: Dear (Tan)... the Beijing and Shanghai events cost us so much money, and we had to fly so many people in. Buyers were supposed to come. At the end, who came? It was a joke!

Time wasted. Efforts wasted. Objectives not met. Money thrown away unnecessarily. I don't get it, how have we become good stewards of money? We tried to save a few thousands on hotels and throw hundreds of thousands on result-less concerts.

All these show me much about you: You are not critical enough in your thinking. You are too optimistic and hopeful of people when you shouldn't be. You are not asking enough questions about events you are sending Sun to. You need to be a greater discerner of people and things. You have the Holy Spirit, work with Him!

Tan: Dear Pastor, thank you for your e-mail and discipleship. I know I can do better in many areas. I will try not to let you and Sun down again. I am sorry and thank you once again, Pastor.

Kong: Dear Peng, each time I rebuke you, I am very aware that I might "crush" you. But if I don't allow you to fight in the trenches with me as a real "soldier", then I am just playing "games" with you.

What's more, I can never develop you to become the man of destiny you have always dreamed to be since the day of your youth.

Tan: Dear Pastor, it is definitely not easy to do this task, but I am not "crushed"...

I will try to make adjustments to be a better worker and hopefully won't disappoint you and Sun again.

About the case

CITY Harvest founder Kong Hee and five others face various charges for their part in allegedly misusing some $50 million of church funds.

The prosecution believes about half of the sum was funnelled through sham transactions to boost the pop music career of Kong's wife Ho Yeow Sun. The other half was then allegedly used to cover up the misdeeds.

The defence says that Ms Ho's secular music career was part of the church-approved Crossover Project, which aims to attract non-Christians through her songs and spread the Gospel among them.